Michael Ealy Responds to the Criticism of For Colored Girls

Here is a response that actor Michael Ealy gave to essence.com concerning the complaints surrounding the negative portrayal of black men in For Colored Girls.

"I think that if you say this is male bashing, you're not looking at the bigger picture. Yeah there are some men with problems in the piece and if you did notice, yes, Hill Harper is one good man. But this is a play by women, by a woman. And it's not like Tyler [Perry] or anyone else wrote the script that had all these men with problems. In my opinion the bigger picture is that the issues that were applicable in the mid '70s when the play was on Broadway, are still plaguing our women and our children right now. The bigger issue is that the piece is timeless. And if you're a man who is handling your business then you know this doesn't apply to you. This isn't a film that showcases men; this is a film that showcases the triumph of our women."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

For Colored Girls Is NOT Anti Black Men

I know I've already done a post about For Colored Girls but I just had to respond to the constant complaints I have heard saying that this movie was just another attempt by Tyler Perry to make black men look bad. Number one, maybe some people should actually pick up a copy of the play and read it (I mean it really is not that long my copy is like 80 pages). If they did they would know that this story was NOT written by Tyler Perry.

Secondly, if you walked away from the movie thinking that the message was "black men ain't worth nothing" then clearly you were not paying attention. To me the movie was clearly about women in general (not just black women) and the struggles that we all go through with men. But like Phylicia Rashad's character says to Kimberly Elise towards the end, we women have to take personal responsibility for the role we played in our own situation. There are bad men out there, clearly. And unfortunately many of us women go through experiences with men that we don't have to because we choose to ignore what is right there in front of us. The Lady in Green knew her man kept cheating and walking out and she still kept taking him back. The Lady in Red knew her man was on the down low, and continued to love him, as she said, on purpose. The message behind this film is not one of man bashing, but clearly about women "becoming themselves" by recognizing who they are which in turn causes them to not settle for anything less than they deserve.

Further, the cast was all black because that is how the play was written. But it could have just as easily been white men in those situations, or hispanic men, or Asian men (you get my point). I went to the movies to see this with girls that were not black and even they could relate to the film. I think everyone complaining that this movie is a bash on black men is just looking for something to complain about. If you couldn't look past the color of these men and just see them as bad men who happened to be black, then you probably have some other race issues that you really need to deal with.

For all the men that hate this being the story of so many women, then change your behavior! Oh but wait, it's much easier to insult Tyler Perry than it is to look at yourself in the mirror and take personal responsibility for all the women you have personally abused over the years. Maybe instead of making insults you need to ask yourself why you felt you were personally reflected in the bad male characters as opposed to the one really good one...

Wayne Brady's For Colored Girls Trailer

Hilarious!

For (Stuffed) Colored Girls from Wayne Brady

For Colored Girls Movie Review

I went to see For Colored Girls last night and all I can say is wow wow wow! It was amazing! I have read all the negative reviews this film has been getting so I really didn't have high hopes. I was also somewhat worried about there being too many big stars in one film, but here it actually worked.

Because I was unfortunately on CP time, I missed the first 10 minutes of the movie. However the acting is some of the best I have seen on film in a long time. The scene where Anika Noni Rose is in the hospital describing her rape to Hill Harper is powerful. And Loretta Devine's monologue towards the end was so real and relatable. It was just simply amazing.

I have read the book so I do know that some of the dialogue was taken directly from its pages. There were a few scenes where this just really did not work but it did not take away from my experience. I think even if you haven't read the book, it will be easy to tell what parts I am talking about. The only reason I am hesitant to say that Tyler Perry should not have used them at all is because a few of them really worked in the film.

All of the actresses did an amazing job and demonstrated the high level of talent they each possess. This is the best I have ever seen Thandie Newton and her performance was my absolute favorite (well it's more of a tie between her and Loretta Devine). Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, and Loretta Devine are already legends even though they have never received the recognition they deserve. If none of these women receive any recognition for these award worthy performances it will be highway robbery! And yes, that includes Ms. Jackson!

Ignore all of the negative reviews and go see this film! It is a definite must see for everyone, not just us colored girls.

Movie Review: Dear John

I know I'm really late seeing this movie. I didn't want to go to the theater to see it alone and when it came out on DVD I refused to pay $20 for it. Nicholas Sparks' films can be somewhat disappointing and most of them are stories too sad for you to watch over and over again. Plus did anyone see GI Joe? That movie was painful to watch. Let's just say I didn't have high hopes for Channing Tatum.

Last weekend my sister and I finally sat down and watched the movie and I was suprisingly impressed. I love a good love story which is why I wanted so badly to see it, but I was expecting it to be cheesy and boring. Channing Tatum is impressive in this film. Granted he still isn't the world's best actor, but it is a big improvement from some of his earlier films. One thing he did was succeed in making you fall in love with his character. Lets just say in all my summers in South Carolina I never saw a man like him and if I had maybe I wouldn't be single!

Anyway this is a great story. The ending is kind of expected but I enjoyed getting there. I might actually go out and spend the $20 to buy it now.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out the trailer.

Lifetime Movies...Not What They Used to Be

I have been watching Lifetime since I was a little girl. I remember how my sister and I would spend our entire Saturday afternoon watching their movies. Then came Lifetime Movie Network and we thought we were in heaven! Lifetime movies all day, every day...what could be better?

Well....

That was then, this is now. Back then, Lifetime movies told stories of real women. Believable stories we could all relate to. They taught us about abuse, violence, drugs, eating disorders, love, lust and all the consequences that come with fast living. I must say that I learned quite a few lessons watching these movies as a teen. Now, every time I turn on Lifetime there's another movie on about some ghost terrorizing a town or 40 year old woman stalking some poor woman's husband or a girl who can see dead people (how original?) and quite frankly it is starting to get old.

Lifetime is not supposed to be about filth. Real stories, real women...that's their theme right? If I wanted to watch poorly executed brainless movies I would spend my time watching a Step Up marathon. But it is still Lifetime and I believe they can redeem themselves. We Were the Mulvaneys is still one of their best original movies ever and that came out in this decade. That means there's hope right?

This month Lifetime premiered The Client List starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. The story seemed right up their alley--a young mom struggling to make ends meet finds herself tangled up in a life of prostitution and is ultimately disgraced when all she was trying to do was support her family. I also love Jennifer Love Hewitt so I expected it to be a good movie. Needless to say I was disappointed. It was mediocre at best. How can it be that they have been telling these same stories for decades and still can't manage to get it right? It wasn't so much the actors as it was that the movie was just poorly written. And whoever the dialect coach was that taught those actors those cheesy southern accents needs to lose his or her job immediately. After an hour and a half I realized I was no longer paying attention to the movie and was instead looking at my TV thinking "Jennifer is such a beautiful girl. I wonder why she is in her 30s and still single. Oh no, will I be in my 30s and still single...". Needless to say those are not the kind of thoughts that are going to leave me feeling good about what I just watched.

But I still believe in you Lifetime and will patiently wait for your comeback.